Missing for six weeks, mentally ill man is found

Friend's sensible approach helps track him down in Hermann Park

George Ruano hands out fliers including pictures and information about his missing brother underneath US 59 between Caroline and La Branch streets, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, in Houston. Ruano has been searching for his brother, Daniel Almendi, who suffers from schizophrenia, since Daniel was released from the Harris County Psychiatric Center on Nov. 30, 2016. ( Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle )

George Ruano hands out fliers including pictures and information...

A news story, a rescuer's heart and a thoughtful strategy converged Monday morning to finally locate a mentally ill man missing since November.

Ultimately, Daniel Almendi's unusual gait gave him away to a longtime friend who spent two days scouring Hermann Park for traces of him.

The 34-year-old, who was discharged from the UTHealth Harris County Psychiatric Center six weeks ago, was found on the edge of the greenspace, his relieved brother, George Ruano, told the Houston Chronicle.

Almendi was found by Moises Lopez, a family friend who spent the long weekend - which included Monday's federal holiday - searching after reading about the disappearance online.

A Chronicle article published in Saturday's print edition and on chron.com about the missing man said several people reported seeing Almendi in Hermann Park.

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"I thought I had lost him forever," Ruano said. "It was God, the Holy Spirit, that guided that man to approach him in the right way."

The incident reveals the struggle people with mental illnesses and their families face in dealing with conditions that affect mood, thinking and behavior. Efforts to balance the privacy and agency of adults with loved ones' concerns for their safety can leave people unaccounted for and relatives frustrated.

Almendi, who has been diagnosed as schizophrenic with paranoia, had been missing since his Nov. 30 release from the hospital. Ruano had been visiting Houston soup kitchens, homeless shelters, bus stops and highway underpasses, frantically posting fliers in hopes that someone had seen his brother.

'His walk gave it away'

Lopez, 40, read the news story early Sunday afternoon, then decided to leave his League City home and search Hermann Park on foot. He canvassed the area for more than six hours until 9 p.m., flashing his cell phone screen to share Almendi's photo and receiving tips from homeless people as well as a park employee about sightings of the missing man.

He returned on Monday around 9 a.m. and starting driving around the park.

"I figured this guy is going to come out in the morning. He's going to be here somewhere in the morning looking for food," said Lopez, who works in cash operations for the Houston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and is a volunteer firefighter.

As he drove into the heart of the Texas Medical Center along Fannin and began to take a left on Cambridge by Memorial Hermann Hospital, he noticed a large man with a scraggly beard and another distinctive trait.

"His walk gave it away," Lopez said. "And when I turned, I yelled his name. He looked back, and I knew it was him."

That's when the emergency responder training in his bones took over. He called 911.

While Lopez was on the phone, Almendi made it clear that he wouldn't be taken away again by authorities.

"I didn't want him to know I was looking for him because I didn't want him to lose trust and run away. So, I kind of played it off. I don't want him to stop talking to me," Lopez said. "He told me he had slept all night on the bench right there at Hermann Park, right on Fannin Street by the Metro train."

Lopez ended the call, parked and asked Almendi to watch his car while he went to a Starbucks within eyeshot to get both of them food and coffee.

While inside, Lopez asked a barista to call 911 about a missing man who was located outside. He returned to the car and shared breakfast with Almendi until Houston police arrived. Officers did not apprehend Almendi but said they would contact his brother.

Mixture of emotions

Almendi was wearing gray pants, a gray sweatshirt, a black hoodie and blue shoes - not the attire described in missing person alerts.

He agreed to accept shelter in a hotel room. Lopez promised to bring clean clothes and take him out to dinner on Monday.

"He said that he's been praying a lot and thinks this is a miracle," Lopez said. "He's happy, but he doesn't want to go home right now."

Almendi was not available for comment.

Ruano obtained a mental health commitment to have his brother hospitalized two weeks after Almendi stopped taking his medication. The family was not notified when Almendi was released from the psychiatric center.

On Monday, Ruano was overjoyed but lamented that his brother remains upset about being forced into treatment.

"He's mad at me for putting him in the hospital," Ruano said. "My goal is to get him to take his medicine and get him back to the clinic."

Lopez was among several church members who had searched independently for the missing man hoping to reunite the brothers and get Almendi help. Both Ruano and Lopez said Almendi has agreed to receive counsel from congregation elders.

"He is like my little brother. I've known him since he was like really young, and I know he's been going through a lot," Lopez said. "And I'd seen his brother desperate … and it just touched my heart. I had to do something to help him."

Ruano said he doesn't have guardianship of Almendi, but hopes to get power of attorney.

"I have to wait until he's in the right frame of mind," Ruano said. "I have to do a lot of praying for wisdom for me to deal with this situation the right way."